Defective Consumer Products and Product Liability Law

By Steve Charpentier on October 16, 2014

There is an implied trust between the designers, manufacturers, and marketers of products and the consumers who purchase those products. This trust is at the heart of American capitalism. Consumers expect that, in return for their hard-earned money, the products that they purchase will be reasonably safe when used for their intended purposes, according to the instructions provided. In order to ensure the preservation of this bond of trust, product liability laws have been put into place. These laws are intended to protect consumers and hold designers, manufacturers, and marketers of products accountable for their quality standards.

At the Charpentier Law Firm in Melbourne, defective consumer products have given rise to many of the personal injury claims that we have successfully handled throughout our history. We believe wholeheartedly in the rights of injured victims and their families, and place our full trust in the American jury system and civil courts and their ability to see that justice is done. Our personal injury attorneys have the skills and resources to take aggressive legal action against any and all parties responsible for defective products, including large multi-national corporations with enormous legal teams in their corners. We will not back down, and we would be pleased to fight on your behalf.

Common Defective Consumer Products

It is possible for virtually any product that you as a consumer can purchase to be defective in at least one of three ways:

In its design: Design defects are inherent in a product from its very inception, before it has even entered the manufacturing stage. All instances of the product manufactured to the design specifications will have the defect.

In its manufacture: Manufacturing defects occur during the fabrication of a product and can involve a single item, every item in a manufacturing run, or all products if design specifications were not followed.

In its marketing: Marketing defects refer to imperfections in a product’s instructions or warning labels.

Commonly defective consumer products include:

Children’s products: Toys, child seats, children’s medicines, cribs, and other products designed and marketed specifically for young children can have defects that make them dangerous or even deadly.

Outdoor appliances: Lawnmowers, riding mowers, chainsaws, and other outdoor appliances can put limbs and lives at risk when defective.

In the vast majority of product liability cases, the doctrine of strict liability comes into play. According to this doctrine, our personal injury attorneys do not have to demonstrate a specific act of negligence on the part of the party or parties responsible for the flaw in the product that caused the injury to you or your loved one. Rather, the presence of the flaw is evidence enough of negligence. What we do have to show is that:

The product was being used for its intended purpose at the time the injury occurred

The product had not been altered in any way that would render it dangerous for use

The defect in the product was indeed responsible for the injury that occurred

The injured victim suffered demonstrable losses and expenses as a result of the injury